The No Catch Co (a vegan fish and chippy in Brighton!)
If you think the world’s gone totally bonkers, it has! The No Catch Co (Brighton) is England’s first vegan fish and chip shop! Set up by a group of animal welfare campaigners, it was designed to offer an alternative to fish caught in nets (that catch other species), and help reduce cod fishing (cod is now endangered), and all sold in zero waste takeaway packaging.
Chips are no longer wrapped in newspaper, due to food regulations. And if you visiting a normal fish and chip shop, it’s not good to buy ‘fish leftovers for cats’, as most are too fatty, and have hidden bones. Read more on food safety for people and pets.
A few chippies in London (like Sutton & Sons) offer ‘banana blossom’ vegan fish’, but this enterprise offers unique alternatives, and has fab reviews. Most alternatives are made from algae-based protein alternatives (2.3 trillion fish are killed each year for food).
And the industry often catches other creatures like dolphins, seals, whales, sea turtles and sharks – and causes immense suffering and greenhouse gas emissions.
Diners are blown away by wonderful alternatives::
- Vegan Cod or Smoked Haddock & Chips
- Jumbo Battered Saveloy & Chips
- Jumbo Lemom Shrimp
- Calamari Sides & Chips
- No-Cow Desserts!
The History of the English Fish and Chippy
England’s first chip shops arrived in the 1800s (people in London were eating fried fish and people in the north were eating cooked chips – so the two were combined).
If you order from a local chip shop, say no to plastic bags (not only bad for the planet, but also makes your chips go soggy). Chip shops can use plastic-free packaging from Vegware (which also sells biodegradable pots for mushy peas).
Another good swap would be to use rapeseed oil (that helps our local farmers) instead of palm oil (causes deforestation and is imported from Indonesia).
It’s good to avoid fast food restaurants for your chips (fries) if possible. KFC cooks theirs in chicken fat, and although their fries are vegan, Burger King’s ‘plant-based whoppers’ are cooked on the same grill as meat.
McDonald’s fries are vegan in England (but not always abroad) and their Filet-o-Fish is made with Alaskan pollock (a fish now veering towards being endangered). Experts say that if you eat fish that has no label, it’s probably pollock.
Created in the 50s for Catholics (who didn’t eat meat on Fridays), this plain fish in a bun with tartare sauce is apparently President Trump’s favourite meal.
When he recently enjoyed a huge banquet on a state visit, apparently on the flight back home he said ‘Whatever the hell they served, I don’t know’ (it was made with British organic ingredients including Hampshire watercress, Kent raspberries and Victoria plums). As a teetotal, he was also not impressed with offerings of organic cognac, wondering where his usual diet soda was.
